Hopper Mecha
''"A tricky weapon with thick armor that explodes on proximity." Overview Self-destructing robots that appear in the Rugname in the final mission of Metal Slug 3. In their original game, they approached by jumping (hence 'Hopper') or crawling on walls, but these movement options were not carried over to Metal Slug Defense. Normal attack: Explodes for high damage when a unit touches it. If the unit is a rush unit and the rushing attack is strong enough to kill Hopper Mecha, it will '''not '''blow up. Will knockback many non-tank non-boss units. Special attack: Explodes for infinite vertical range, decent horizontal range, and '''huge' damage (easily 3k+). Will knockback almost any non-tank non-boss unit, including highly-resistant ones like Slug Armor and Red Ring Laser Mecha. Unlocked by rescuing all POWs from World 1 Emergency Boss Stage 4 (Martian icon). Tactics No longer recommended due to the popularity of Hazmat Soldier (Green). This is not a beginner's unit. Hopper Mecha is a niche unit that can be a harsh counter to two common lead units: Iori and Slug Armor. On short maps, Hopper Mechas alone may not be able to kill Slug Armor outright, but will do so much damage and slow it down enough that other units can easily dismantle it. It is not often seen in competitive play due to the difficulty involved in using it: the timing of the special is strict and the online lag must be accounted for. Also, it can be countered by some projectile leads. * Two specials will kill Iori. Three specials (medium or longer maps only) will kill a Slug Armor. Two specials will leave a Smasher near death: it is better to use another unit's attack to kill it, or you will lose out in terms of AP. * When pressed against your base(usually by Slug Armor), a Hopper Mecha summon can give a quick burst of high damage that may just save the game. * If, on a long or medium map, the opponent responds to early game Hopper Mecha with Hyakutaro or certain other projectile leads (King, etc), blow up the mecha to avoid feeding the opponent AP. Learn to recognize Hyakutaro charging his special so you can make him waste it. On short maps, the first Hopper Mecha can usually make it to the projectile user and blow them up, but you may need to waste the second. * On longer maps, Iori or Slug Armor have the option of using their special to avoid one blast. It is nevertheless worth it to trade 50 AP for forcing them to waste their powerful specials. * A special will kill most early-game air units. A well protected Hopper Mecha in the early-mid game can be used as a situational anti air. * In the midgame, you can send out Hopper Mecha behind knockback-immune walls such as Mars Mecha and Augenstern. These walls force the threatening Slug Armor to stop in front of them, allowing easy timing of the Hopper Mecha blast. * Even in the lategame, continue to send out Hopper Mecha and keep a lookout for any opportunity to hit anything with the special. Common targets include Slug Armor, Hairbuster Riberts, Stone Turtle or a Hi-Do attacking with its special. The damage is worth it.